How to Dominate in Disciples: Domination

Running a kingdom is hard work and a lot of responsibility, something protagonist Avyanna learned the hard way in Disciples: Domination. Luckily, the weight of the crown is often offset by the wisdom of trusted counsel, which is where this handy dandy guide comes in! Here are a few lessons I learned as I journeyed through the realm of Nevendaar.

1. Know Your Team

It should come as no surprise that it is important to know what your units can do; this is a game about leading warriors in battle, after all. However, Domination takes it a bit further by placing a lot of emphasis on fighter synergy and conditional skill use.

A lot of the abilities your combatants use, both active and passive, have a trick or two to them. For example, the White Wizard’s Wave of Light can both harm enemies and heal allies, whereas a Necromancer can raise a nearby corpse into an undead fighter at the end of their turn. While useful by themselves, these skills can become invaluable if the player understands how they work individually and then together. Knowing what each unit does also helps you navigate your enemies’ forces, as they are the same fighters you yourself use!

In the same vein, watching how your foe uses their units and what combinations they prefer can be educational. Sure, opposing armies usually consist of warriors from the same faction and may not be as useful for a multi-national army such as Avyana’s, but there are a few mixed armies among the enemies you face. Every fight is a learning opportunity and a painful lesson for the unobservant.

Finally, it’s good to remember that Avyanna’s Companions are unique, having their own skills and abilities that only they can use. Learning how they work can be the difference between them being useful and absolutely deadly. As an example, Ethel, the human Companion you recruit near the start? She’s a beast when used properly! Whenever she strikes a finishing blow on a foe, she recovers one Orange Action Point, meaning she can keep on swinging as long as heads keep rolling.

2. Have Options

It is tempting, once you’ve found a roster you enjoy, to simply keep using the same fighters without hiring any extras. Believe me, I’ve been there multiple times, and it’s not a bad thing! However, there are a few reasons to keep a few different units around, just in case.

First off, Domination can be pretty ruthless at times. Even with the prevalence of healing fountains and spells, you may find yourself in a situation where one or more warriors are on their last leg at the start of a fight. If they’re ones you’d rather not lose, switching out a replacement may not be the worst idea.

Secondly, you may want to alter the number of ranged and melee units in your party based on the layout of the battle map for multiple reasons. An arena with multiple impassable obstacles may be prime real estate for a few extra archers, whereas a large, open field can be a great time to bust out that only-wolves build you’ve been wanting to try! Friendly units DO NOT let allies past their spaces, so cramming an already small battlefield with melee fighters will end up with someone twiddling their thumbs.

And lastly, Domination’s damage weakness and reduction system is such that having the right party can make dealing with combat far easier. For example, having a few units that can Obliterate enemies is a godsend when facing the Undead Horde. No body, no resurrection! Having your options open for each fight is a great way to gain an edge on your foe and make life in Nevendaar a tiny bit more enjoyable.

3. Fix It With Money

In continuation of the previous point, I imagine some readers may have concerns about having too big an army and keeping them all at respectable levels, and this is indeed an issue! If you have a unit hanging out on the sidelines for long enough, they may start lagging behind their fellows, making them less enticing to throw into a battle. Thankfully, there is an easy fix to this: money!

When visiting Avyanna’s seat of power, Ylian, it is possible to visit the embassies of the five factions of Nevendaar. While your main activity here is to recruit more units, you can also upgrade and train existing warriors in your band. Yes, it does cost a few resources, but the amount is usually pretty negligible, and the extra levels are usually worth the price of admission. Companions and elite units can be trained via the main building instead of the faction-specific locations.

4. Look at Everything

One of the new mechanics added in Domination is the Throne system, wherein the player must resolve Grievances lodged by their subjects and make rulings on how to deal with each issue. Now, these complaints come in three main categories: Crisis events, which spawn every half-hour; Main Quest issues, which are triggered by the narrative; and Exploration complaints, the main focus of this section.

These Grievances are, as the name hints, unlocked by exploring the lands of Nevendaar and interacting with the locals. While points of interest that trigger one are usually labelled with a nice, big exclamation point, some are more subtle, requiring you to read through a discarded journal or look at a relief.

5. Beware Social Interaction

Adding on to the previous point somewhat: yes, interacting with everything and everyone is a good idea… but for the love of your progress, be careful about it!

You see, in general, Domination does a good job of indicating when you can expect a fight by showing a preview of the group you may face. However, there are cases where you are instead whisked away into a battle you can’t retreat from without warning. This can be annoying, especially if the foe in question is especially high-level.

Sure, you can usually guess when a skirmish is afoot by looking at the overworld map. See a group of units just hanging out? That's probably a battle. However, this is not always the case, so doing a quick save before interacting can be the difference between a good time and a bad match.

6. Spells, They’re Magic

This one is short and sweet: remember to buy and upgrade spells! Though it may seem self-evident, the game doesn’t really remind you when spells are eligible for upgrades, so it’s surprisingly easy just to forget all about them. It happened to me multiple times!

Though these incantations aren’t the strongest attacks in the game, they do have their uses both in terms of Area of Effect damage and controlling the battlefield. As such, keeping them up to snuff can help them stay viable and may even increase their range! If nothing else, it makes succeeding in the “kill x enemies with spells” challenges much easier.

7. Don't Sleep on the Backline

The Backline system is possibly my favourite feature in Disciples: Domination for multiple reasons! First off, it adds a whole new level of synergy and strategy to combat, as the support skills units have can vastly change how your army functions. Second, adding units to the backline doesn’t cost Leadership points, so you can stuff it full of high-tier fighters without worry. It’s a fun mechanic to play around with all around.

However, the abilities on offer may feel very underwhelming near the start of the game, with units offering skills that are either situational or offer a minor passive boost. This is understandable, and it is probably wiser to focus on fielding more fighters than worrying about support roles for a while, in any case.

After you’ve collected a few extra units and unlocked more tiers, that's when the feature really comes into its own! Want to have a continuous supply of corpses on the field to buff your demons and undead? There’s a unit for that. Feel like you’re always running low on health? Problem solved!

As an example, I found that having a Priestess and a Modeus as my support suited my playstyle well. The former would heal the weakest ally at the end of every turn a fair bit, whereas the latter would deal damage to enemies, often taking out a weak foe. I’d also rotate the third supporter based on my units and the opponent.

8. Play Mind Games

Multiple characters have abilities that can cause enemies to become Taunted. When affected by this status, the unit will focus on the taunter, prioritising them over other foes, which is useful in itself. However, in Domination, I noticed that calling enemies foul names can be used for much more than aggro distribution.

You see, in addition to focusing their fire on the taunter, irate fighters will often forgo their usual tactics. For example, the Death Knight typically fires off their Area of Effect ability as an opening move (ironically, taunting your fighters as a result), which can be somewhat annoying. However, when under the effects of the red mist, they will instead simply swing at the one sparking their ire! The same is true for other units with similar skills, though results may vary.

As an additional trick, I also noticed that taunted foes will simply skip their turns completely if they are unable to reach their target. If used correctly, this can easily cause the enemy to waste a good few activations, which can be useful for diverting unfriendly heavy hitters.

Now, as with any status effect, your units may also be afflicted by the same malady with the same results. If you find yourself in this situation, you can end the ailment immediately by slaying the taunter. Easy!

9. That Which Can Eternal Lie

Disciples: Domination has a lot of different units, all of which have their own uses and powers. Some, though, are much bigger annoyances than others if left to their own devices. As such, it is important to pick your targets with care!

Now, which units one should consider to be the biggest priority can be dependent on the type of army and strategy in use, so pay attention to which enemies you have issues with and keep slipping out of your grasp; those are probably at the top of your hit list!

In my case, I found myself going after the following three enemies before anything else whenever they popped up in battle: the Necromancer, the Daughter of Sin, and the Lich.

Starting off with the Necromancer, this relatively low-tier unit isn’t all that powerful, all things considered, even though it does have solid Area of Effect skills. The issue I have with them is their passive ability, which lets them turn a nearby corpse into a skeleton warrior. Sure, the created unit is not exactly going to turn the tide, but that one extra attack can make the difference for a low-health fighter, not to mention making hitting those “win in x rounds” challenges a pain.

The Lich, on the other hand, is a pretty strong caster by themselves and should be treated with caution regardless of any target priority. However, their passive ability is why I usually beeline to take them out! You see, upon death, this unit will create a Phylactery somewhere on the map. If it is not destroyed in the next two rounds, the nasty fellow pops right back up as if nothing happened. Not an issue if you plan for it, but a world-class pain if the bloody thing spawns on the other side of the arena.

Finally, the Daughter of Sin. A high-tier, endgame unit, you probably won’t run into one very often, which is why its ability may take you by surprise. By using the Mind Domination skill, a Daughter can turn one of your units hostile for a matter of turns. While it’s bad enough that your foe now has an extra pair of hands to poke you with, you also now run the risk of slaying your own warrior each time you use an Area of Effect skill! Not fun. Thankfully, they can only do this once every six rounds and the effect ends upon the caster's death.

10. Sit Like a Lemon

My final bit of advice is a bit cheeky, and its usefulness can vary depending on your difficulty options, but it’s good to remember nonetheless: if you find yourself with a severely injured party at the end of a fight, consider wasting a few turns before dealing the final strike of the fight.

Why, you may ask? Well, if it is enabled via your settings, ending a turn without using all of your action points will heal the unit for a significant amount of damage. If you have one enemy left, you can spend a few turns recovering instead of just ending the battle then and there. It’s a bit on the cheap side when it comes to strategy, but it sure beats twiddling your thumbs and waiting for the Health Fountain to refill!

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And there you have it, 10 tips and tricks to give you an edge as you battle the corruption and reunite Nevendaar. We hope you find something useful for your epic quest! Do you have any great hints we missed? Let us know in the comments.